UK/INTERNATIONAL. As Alpha Airports Group reported an 11.9% year-on-year increase in turnover for the six months to July 31, CEO Kevin Abbott told DFNI the company was working on "an unprecedented number of projects" in a bid to grow Alpha's business at home and abroad.

INTERNATIONAL. Dufry Group sales for the first eight months of 2004 reached SFr568.9m ($722m), a rise of 12% over the same period in 2003, the company has revealed to DFNI.

Tax Free World Association (TFWA) president Erik Juul-Mortensen is to stand for re-election later this month, when the association votes in new officers and a new management committee.

Industry campaigners are to present a 10?15-year perspective of potential threats to the global duty-free retail business at a workshop at this month's TFWA World Exhibition.

Kraft Foods is consolidating its World Travel Retail Division (WTRD) and EU Export business units to form a Travel Retail/EU Export group headed by Andreas Fehr (right) as general manager.

Fulvio Fassone has resigned as retail director at Venice Marco Polo airport to begin a new role as commercial director at Turin and Florence airport authority Sagat.

Seoul Incheon International airport's duty-free shops have been an astounding success since opening in 2001. Only Sydney International airport has higher duty-free income per passenger, according to a recent survey. Anna Fenton reports

Business is improving at Hotel Shilla, but the customer profile has changed and the South Koreans have overtaken the Japanese as the highest spenders. Anna Fenton talks to merchandising team manager Chris Shin to find out more

Continuing its programme of innovation, Heineken aims to change the profile of the beer category in airport stores with a new range of gift packs. But can the world's biggest exporter of beer succeed in persuading sceptical operators to try them? Joe Bates reports

With sales averaging $200,000 a day, Hotel Lotte's shop at Seoul Incheon airport has one of the highest turnovers of any single airport outlet in the world. But the performance of its downtown stores is equally remarkable, as Anna Fenton discovers

It's every commercial manager's dream to have a blank canvas to design their shops, with retail to the fore. At Nagoya's new airport, Centrair, that's exactly what the airport authority has done. Anna Fenton travelled there for a sneak preview

In the challenging Korean liquor market, aggressive marketing can make the difference between growth and stagnation. Anna Fenton talks to leading retailer Korean National Tourism Organisation and supplier Jinro Ballantines

South Koreans quickly started to travel again following last year's SARS outbreak and Korean Air has enjoyed a sharp increase in onboard sales in recent months. Anna Fenton talks to the airline's Heather Cho, who says the secret is in the service

The end is nigh for cramped, barely distinguishable duty-free shops in Tokyo's main airport. Narita International Airport Corporation unveils its development plans to Anna Fenton

Osaka Kansai airport is 10 years old this year. But does it have anything to celebrate, asks Anna Fenton

Despite losing most of their South Korean traffic, retailers at Tokyo Narita are quietly enjoying solid sales performances. Anna Fenton looks at how two?JAL/DFS and JATCo?are faring as they await the expansion of the airport's retail space

As Japan's airports compete for South Korean and mainland Chinese passengers, Fukuoka airport has demonstrated its aspirations for growth by building up its duty-free offer. Anna Fenton visits the facility's new shops

The 20th anniversary of travel-retail's blue-riband event in Cannes finds Tax Free World Association in a mood to party. After a gruelling 2003, the association hopes the Cannes show will crown a return to vitality. John Rimmer talks to president Erik Juul-Mortensen and CEO Andrew Ford

Previously unpopular with suppliers, multi-branded fashion stores are back in vogue now that airport retailers have taken steps to enliven their visual presentations. Kevin Rozario sizes up their potential for attracting further passenger and brand owner interest

Airports and downtown tax-free stores are the leading travel-retail outlets for fashion goods. But exclusive extracts from Raven Fox Research's new report The Global Travel-Retail Market for Fashion 2004 show that the category can also generate good business in other channels, writes Sandra Newman

MALAYSIA. Duty-free retailers at Kuala Lumpur International airport have indicated that airport authority Malaysia Airports could adopt a radical retail formula when it unveils its forthcoming tenders

INTERNATIONAL. Next year's eagerly awaited Global Travel Retail Summit, organised by Raven Fox, will focus on the future of the trade and how the travel-retail industry can more than double sales to $50bn.

Five years on from its abolition in western Europe, the ghost of intra-EU duty-free continues to haunt travel retailers.

URUGUAY. Zeinal Hermanos has posted a 56% increase in turnover for the first half of 2004.

ETHIOPIA. Ethiopian Tourist Trading Enterprise (ETTE) has recorded a year-on-year sales increase of 10% to Birr76m ($8.8m) in its duty-free and duty-paid operations.

RUSSIA. Moscow Domodedovo airport authority East Line has announced plans to add about 28,000sq m (301,390sq ft) of space to its passenger terminal by next summer.

UK. P&O has announced a restructure of its ferry operations following substantial losses over the past year.

MALTA. Air Supplies & Catering general manager Walter Izzo has left the company.

UK. BAA retail subsidiary World Duty Free (WDF) has announced plans to bring US company Victoria's Secret Beauty to its key UK airport retail locations.

US. Miami International airport is hoping to publish its delayed tender for duty-free later this month, once an outstanding duty-paid retail tender has been settled.

SINGAPORE. Singapore Changi airport has boosted its terminal two retail offer with two new stores.

IRELAND. Ryanair is aiming to boost onboard revenues with the addition of inflight entertainment units to its trolley service.

MEXICO. Aldeasa has clinched a deal to operate duty-paid stores at Cancún International airport in Mexico.

JAPAN. Central Japan International Airport Co, which will open the new Centrair airport in February 2005, claims its open-plan shopping areas will help it become Japan's leading airport duty-free location.

CANADA. Blue Water Bridge Duty Free is aiming to offset reduced US traffic at the Sarnia crossing into the US by placing more emphasis on attracting Canadian travellers.

INTERNATIONAL. Readers of DFNI sister publication Business Traveller have voted Singapore Changi airport the best duty-free location worldwide in the magazine's annual round of awards.

NETHERLANDS. Eindhoven airport has invited selected retailers to submit proposals for retail space at its redeveloped terminal, due for completion by next May.

TURKEY. Havas-Bayindir Group has won the build-operate-transfer contract for the planned 110,000sq m (1.2msq ft) terminal at Izmir Adnan Menderes airport in Turkey.

US. The Paradies Shops has won the retail contract at Southwest Florida International airport.

INTERNATIONAL. Executives from budget airlines worldwide painted an optimistic picture for the sector when they met for the World Low Cost Airlines Congress in London on September 21?22.

CENTRAL/LATIN AMERICA. The Falic Group, owner of Duty Free Americas (DFA), is building its distribution and retail business in central and Latin America with several new airport and border stores opening soon.

DFNI publisher Raven Fox is pleased to introduce the next steps in its electronic service for travel-retail professionals.

HONG KONG. King Power Group has reported a 60% surge in sales for the first eight months of 2004 compared with the same period in 2003, as the business recovers from last year's downturn in travel brought on by SARS.

Allied Domecq has launched a series of new initiatives for its malt brands, Laphroaig, Gledronach and Scapa. The company plans to double its share of the global domestic and duty-free single malt market to 5% within four years.

Rémy Cointreau is to launch Rémy Martin XO ExcellencE at the TFWA World Exhibition.

Mexican liquor supplier Destileria Porfidio will unveil its first flavoured rum at this month's TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes.

Armagnac Baron de Sigognac has introduced four gift packs, each containing two 50cl bottles, in a bid to build the profile of the armagnac category in travel-retail.

Pernod Ricard has explained its decision to decentralise its duty-free operations and hand responsibility to the relevant domestic teams, which will result in the winding down of travel-retail division Pernod Ricard World Trade (PRWT) by the end of the year.

Heineken aims to build its duty-free sales at international airports with a new range of four gift boxes.

Japan Tobacco International (JTI) has introduced two new sponsored smoking areas in Zürich airport's Airside Center featuring its Camel and Winston brands.

Hungarian Customs authorities have reduced the tobacco allowance for inbound travellers at the country's border with Romania. Single-crossing limits have been slashed from 200 to 40 sticks and the government has imposed an annual limit of 20,000 sticks in an attempt to stem the growth of illegal imports, which it estimates has cost it Ft15bn ($73.7m) in excise revenue over the past year.

A large walk-in humidor and personalised five-bay gondolas will be key features in the tobacco area when operator James Richardson unveils its 3,000sq m (32,340sq ft) store at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion airport's new international terminal, which opens next month.

Members of Latin American trade association ASUTIL have pledged to take a proactive approach to gathering intelligence on potential tobacco threats in the region.

Canadian border retailer Blue Water Bridge Duty Free has called for clearer communication of the summer fragrances category.

Falic Group-owned cosmetics brand Urban Decay will make its first move into fragrances with three perfume oils next month.

Coty CEO Bernd Beetz hosted a VIP party to mark the company's centennial celebration at the American Museum of Natural History's Rose Centre for Earth and Space on September 12.

Ferragamo Parfums is to unveil fragrance flanker Incanto Dream next year.

Malaysian travel retailer Colours & Fragrances is planning to expand its 30sq m (322 sq ft) fragrances and cosmetics unit at Jetty Point ferry terminal in Langkawi.

L'Oréal Luxury Products Division has confirmed that the next stand-alone site for its Shu Uemura brand will be at London Heathrow terminal three.

UK charter airline MyTravel Airways has enhanced its beauty offer this summer, recognising it as the carrier's most successful product sector.

Ferrero will make its first solo appearance in Cannes this month after a year of increased travel-retail activity.

German coffee manufacturer Tchibo is staging tastings for its Davidoff Cafe Espresso 57 at Istanbul Atatürk airport this month after running a similar exercise at Frankfurt airport during the summer.

Pouches (standing bags) of chocolates are set to make a substantial impact on the duty-free sector, according to Masterfoods International Travel Retail (MITR) consultant Stuart Bull.

Bonardo Travel Retail has stepped up its emphasis on premium packaging and duty-free exclusives with several new offerings in Cannes for its Swiss Chocolate Temptations concept.

Alpha Retail has begun renting portable DVD players to passengers at Luton airport following a successful trial during the summer.

German electronics supplier and distributor Pacific and Atlantic Sound Co (Pasco) has started distributing small, portable goods from high-end hi-fi brand Bang & Olufsen in travel-retail.

French homeware supplier Bernardaud has unveiled its latest collection of chinaware for the dinner table.

Electronics supplier Oregon Scientific is launching its new two-way radios in domestic and travel-retail markets this month.

Austrian crystal supplier Swarovski is to introduce two themed launches a year for its homeware and jewellery ranges.

Spanish erotic media supplier Private Media Group has announced it is expanding its travel-retail operations.

Certina has launched two diving-style watches.

Swatch brand Rado is to concentrate on the Middle East, one of its key travel-retail regions, over the next six months.

Watch brand Citizen Watch Co is preparing to roll out line extensions for its Eco-Drive range of timepieces.

LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton watch brand Dior plans to focus on India this year in both domestic and travel-retail channels.

UK writing instruments supplier Conway Stewart is making an aggressive bid to enter the duty-free market.

US jeans brand Levi Strauss & Co will be present at this month's Cannes show for the first time.

Munich-based fashion brand Escada will launch a specially created inflight line at TFWA World Exhibition this month and will introduce children's apparel for the first time.

Anglo-Italian sunglasses supplier Fabris Lane has said it plans to build its portfolio of mid- to premium-end licensed brands ?with distinct exportable British qualities? as it prepares to take its products to TFWA World Exhibition for the first time (Green Village L61).

Fashion stands still at LVMH: The Fashion and Leathergoods division of French luxury goods group LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton has shown a first-half operating profit of Eu634m ($773m), unchanged from last year.

Italian brand Ermenegildo Zegna is to enter the multi-branded fashion concept Catwalk at Frankfurt airport terminal one, replacing Marc O'Polo, which has been present at the location since the store opened two years ago.